The College and Career Readines and Success Center closed on September 30,2019 because the grant cycle for the U.S. Department of Education Comprehensive Centers ended. The information on this website will no longer be updated. Visit www.air.org for updates on college and career readiness.

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In this report, the author discusses the shift to a mentality that all students need to go on to college in order to be successful in life. He identifies several reasons within the changing economy that support this belief and describes skills that are crucial in today's workforce.

This report describes how some of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s education grantees in Atlanta are working to increase the instances of students in the community moving on from secondary to postsecondary life. The author highlights the strategy known as "P-16" which aims to link education strategies from preschool through college graduation. Lessons learned provide insight for other communities undertaking this approach. This report would be most useful for state and community leaders working to graduate students prepared for postsecondary success.

This report provides a profile of 38 schools and details how these schools have implemented strategies to promote and advance college readiness. The report outlines each school, characteristics that make the school unique, and lessons learned from undertaking particular strategies. The report is organized into six sections: 1) alternative schools, 2) charter schools, 3) comprehensive schools, 4) early college high schools, 5) magnet schools, and 6) private schools. In several cases, schools may have utilized more than one strategy to achieve their goal.

This paper presents findings from the Pennsylvania Governor's Conference on Higher Education in March 2009 surrounding ways to improve college success. The paper presents four steps to achieving this derived from analysis of the presentations. The steps include: 1) identifying the challenges to increased college success; 2) creating and action plan for success; 3) putting the plan into action; and, 4) working together to increase college success.

This guidebook is a step-by-step guide for schools, families and the community on how to be involved in addressing the dropout crisis. The authors provide research-based information and tools with each section to be used in implementing programs specific to the community. Each section provides background information on topics relevant to the community as a whole such as the cost of high dropout rates, along with questions techniques, strategies, and additional resources to address the community needs.

In this conference paper, the author notes that good jobs require access to postsecondary education and training. There is a growing economic divide between adults with and without postsecondary education and training. The author recommends that policies be put into place that assist non-traditional students and students with barriers to access postsecondary education.

This brief from ACT illustrates that taking core work in high school does not guarantee the student will graduate or be prepared for life after high school. Further, it examines the gap between secondary and postsecondary education in the U.S. The author recommends a focus on successful strategies for eliminating this gap so that all high school graduates learn the essential skills they need to be successful in college and work.

This series of policy briefs from the Center on Education Policy (CEP) discuss a variety of information that school exit exams reveal about student achievement. The first brief discusses the shift in ways of determining how students earn a high school diploma - previously using minimum competency exams to current and future wide use of end-of-course exams. The second brief discusses use of exit exam pass rates to determine gaps in low performing students.

This report from America's Promise Alliance discusses the nation's dropout rates during 2010-11 and what is being done to improve the situation. The report highlights that working collaboratively in local communities and across the nation can stem the dropout tide, meet national goals, and ensure the next generation of students are educated to meet the increasing demands of our society, economy, and democracy. It encourages states, districts, schools and communities to adopt the Civic Marshall Plan framework and benchmarks to organize and accelerate efforts.

This document explains how ACTE defines career and technical education (CTE), and the benefits it can bring about including dropout reduction, high GPA, higher test scores, and more successful students. It also provides statistics and sources that support the organization's position that CTE increases student achievement and helps meet the economic needs of a community.

The contents of this Web site were developed under a grant (Grant #S283B1200034) from the U.S. Department of Education. Information presented in this site does not necessarily represent the policies of the Department of Education, and does not imply endorsement by the Federal Government.